We are going to start this new “REAL FOOD” way of eating and living with a juice cleanse. Although I am getting my kids to start eating real food, I am not going to have them be part of the cleanse, I do not recommend that you include them in a juice fast at all! I do recommend giving them diluted juice if they are between the ages of 3-12 (in small quantities) and undiluted if they are in their teens along with their regular unprocessed meals. It is great for them! Do not be afraid to give kids juice. It’s food in its pure and raw form. If there is an adverse reaction from a juice cleanse it might be because they are not used to eating such pure food!

This is how we are going to do it:

Breakfast - Green juice, green smoothie, or freshly cut fruit.
Afternoon - Green juice, green smoothie, or freshly cut fruit.
Dinner - Should be before 7pm (ideally by 5) so your body has time to digest. Dinner should be light and easy to digest: salad, steamed veggies, or soup.

In between meals - We will have another green juice, green smoothie, or freshly cut fruit, water or tea with no added sugars…

But what if you feel hungry? If you feel real hungry have another juice, fruit or steamed veggies. BUT THAT’S ALL ALLOWED FRUIT - GREEN JUICE & VEGGIES.

• No dairy
• No gluten
• No soy
• Sugars only from fruit
• No salt
• No caffeine
• No alcohol
• No oils

*** IMPORTANT ***

ALL JUICE MUST BE FROM ORGANIC FRUITS AND VEGGIES.ORGANIC

Why organic?….because there are nearly 3 pounds of vegetables in one glass of juice - that equates to a lot of toxins, pesticides, and herbicides that are known to cause hormone disruption and clog your fat cells.

Tips for a successful Juicing Cleanse:

• Juice should be fresh, or no older than one day old. Do not use store-bought juice or you will be defeating much of the purpose of the fast.
• Try to avoid fruit only juice recipes, or add in only one fruit with the vegetable juices to make it more palatable. No store-bought juice!
• Stay hydrated! Drink Plenty of water and tea during the cleanse
• Do not try a cleanse if you are diabetic, pregnant! Because all of the carbohydrates from the fruits are condensed in juice form, you’re putting yourself at a higher risk of elevated glucose levels and blood sugar spikes.
• Make sure to check with your doctors before starting a cleanse, especially true if you are on any type of medication.
• Prepare - The more prepared you are before your cleanse, the smoother your transition will be. This means a few days leading up to your cleanse, cut down on coffee, sugar, meat and dairy, and add fresh fruit, greens and veggies at every meal.
• Take a walk! Keep slight activity. Nothing to heavy, your body is working overtime!

Juice Cleanse Recipes:

Juice #1 spinach, kale, parsley, cucumber, celery, beet, apple, carrot, ginger and lemon
Juice #2 Carrot, apple, ginger and lemon
Juice #3 Purple cabbage, parsley, apple, ginger and lemon
Juice #4 Spinach, kale, parsley, cucumber, celery, apple, ginger and lemon
Juice #5 Kale, granny smith apple, cucumber, lemon, ginger
Juice#6 Beet, carrot, celery, broccoli, garlic, ginger, garlic, lemon
Juice #7 Oranges & parsley
Juice #8 Beet, Cucumber, Lemon, Apple, Garlic

Green Lemonade - 1 lemon 2 cucumbers 4 celery 1/2 apple

* Pineapple and pear can take the bitterness away from the kale taste… and it dulls the celery taste a bit too if you are not into celery…

Juice boosters:

• Chia seeds
• Spirulina
• chlorella
• flax seeds

Blending Smoothie Recipes: (add Ice)

1. coconut water, mango, spinach, spirulina, lime, cilantro
2. coconut water, strawberry, banana, blueberry, raspberry, spinach
3. 1 tablespoon of spirulina in 2 cups of apple, spinach, orange or pineapple juice. Add fresh fruit like peach, pear, apple, pineapple, banana, orange or berries.
4. Kale, spinach, chard, kiwi, mango, pear, coconut water
5. Apple, lemon, kale, celery, flat leaf parsley or cilantro, ground cinnamon, water
6. Mango, spinach, green tea, medium banana, fresh pineapple

Breaking the Cleanse:

Since we are still going to be eating veggies and salads during the fast If you eat meat, you may incorporate some after the last day - lightly steamed or poached fish, with veggies and a salad of course!

Detox Symptoms

• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Constipation/Diarrhea
• Skin eruptions
• Rash/Hives
• Cold sores/Canker sores
• Dry mouth
• Nausea
• Insomnia
• Runny nose
• A ton of energy
• Increased sex drive
• Overwhelming sense of calm and productivity

You can control and/or speed up any detox symptom you may experience. Some helpful remedies include herbal teas, which you may drink as much of as you like during your cleanse.

After the cleanse, make sure to follow my pinterest account for healthy food options!

So we will start this cleanse on Monday morning. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Going healthy, more than ever is a big priority in my home. The first thing you think of when going healthy is to get off your butt, get moving and “eat” healthy. So if you’re anything like me, you go online and search for Diet Food. But what exactly is Diet Food? Instead of saying you’re going on a diet, which usually means you are going to deprive yourself from one thing or another, why don’t we change the way we look at Diet food? Are you thinking of going on a Vegetarian, Vegan, or Plant Based - Whole Foods diet? What does it all mean and what are the benefits of each? Do you believe in enjoying everything in moderation?

Just to get things straight, I’m not here to sway you to any particular diet. I am however here to motivate you to join me and get healthy.

Vegetarian Diet: In general, a vegetarian is someone who doesn’t eat meat. But there are several kinds of vegetarian diets.

• Lacto-ovo : Vegetarians eat milk products-such as milk, cheese, and yogurt-and eggs, but no meat, poultry, seafood, or fish.
• Lacto-vegetarians : Eat milk products, but not eggs, meat, poultry, seafood, or fish.
• Pescetarian : Is the practice of a diet that includes seafood but not the flesh of other animals.
• Vegans : Total vegetarians. They eat only plant foods. They don’t eat food that comes from animals in any way, including milk products, eggs, honey, and gelatin (which comes from bones and other animal tissue). According to information posted on vegan.org a Vegan is someone who, for various reasons, chooses to avoid using or consuming animal products including, dairy, eggs, fur, leather, wool, down, cosmetics, chemicals and animal testing.
• Semi-vegetarian : Many people are semi-vegetarian or flexitarian - most of the diet is vegetarian, but sometimes they may eat meat, poultry, seafood, fish, and/or eggs.
• Plant based - Whole foods Diet: eat whole or minimally processed plants, primarily fruits, vegetables, whole grains, tubers, and legumes. It excludes or minimizes animal-based foods such as meat (including poultry and fish), dairy, and eggs, as well as refined foods like bleached flour, refined sugar, and oil.

Wheuu… That was a lot of info.

REAL FOOD : Because we see the benefits of each of these “diets”, we have decided moderation is key. But wait, you said you were going healthy! Yes, yes we are, and how you might ask? We are going to be cutting out processed food and switching to REAL FOOD. I will further explain the details on what we are going to be eating and drinking in my next post, but in general we are cutting out the JUNK!

So… Who is in?

I will be sharing a printable grocery list soon for all those willing to join me. Make sure you are my Facebook friend for free downloads!

Hey everyone! How has February treated you?

I know I have been gone for a couple weeks, don’t worry I haven’t abandoned you! I have been busy continuing my education in Pilates. I am getting closer to getting certified and have been putting a lot of time and energy into learning nutritional benefits in going Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole foods, Plant based diets and so on. I would like to share all of this information with you as I progress, and invite you to join me in this transformation. Lets Get Inspired, Get Healthy, Get Fit, Eat Right.

This transformation will be broken into weeks. We will be making small changes one week at a time. I will be getting my husband and picky eating kids along for the ride, so you might want to pull yours in too! I always believe that if you have support at home, you are more likely to succeed. If you feel you are alone in this journey, don’t fret, share your concerns and as a community we can do it together.

So who’s in?

It’s Valentine’s week and Valentine’s is just around the corner. If you have yet to buy some Valentines cards for your kids, your in luck today! I got some free Printable Valentines for my Facebook fans, and they are just adorable. If you are not a fan yet, you might just want to become one, because I have a whole lot a free printables coming up this year.

One more thing I wanted to share. My son’s Valentines mailbox project!

It took me a while, but it was a labor of love! The second pic, shows the opening on the top.:)

What do you have planned for Valentine’s Day? Anything romantic? I would love to know what everyone is doing.

Hope you all have a wonderful and loving week! XOXO

Pinterest is a fabulous place to find DIY crafts and find ideas of new DIY projects to create. I have been on a hunt this year for a DIY Non-Candy Valentine for my child’s class this year, and ran into this easy yet time consuming craft originally found on this website.

Here is what you need:

Rulers - I was able to find the rulers at a dollar store. Four for one dollar to be exact!

Construction Paper - I found red and pink construction paper in the dollar spot at Target {my favorite store in the entire universe}.

Hearts - Also found at Target, these were in the scrapbook section.

Total cost: About $10

Wow!!! I know, and are they not so darn cute!

Anyhoo, what are you planning for Valentine’s? Anything special?

Make sure to check back or like me on Facebook, I will be posting my son’s DIY Valentine mailbox soon!